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A lot of the great Graphic Designers in history, like Massimo Vignelli, Josef Müller-Brockmann, and Jacqueline Casey seem to have a specific style that I want to emulate for a project, and I'd like to have some sort of reference to use for the history, other designers, and other general information.

I've noticed that some common denominators include simple yet bold colour use (mostly the most basic forms of colours), heavy use of grid systems and geometric shapes, and simple typefaces (Helvetica, Garamond, Futura, etc...) used in unique ways.

A lot of these traits point to two styles in my opinion: Bauhaus and Brutalist. However, those two styles aren't quite able to accurately describe these styles. Here are some examples of what I'm looking for:

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International Typographic Style

The International Typographic Style, also known as the Swiss Style, is a graphic design style that emerged in Russia, the Netherlands, and Germany in the 1920s and was further developed by designers in Switzerland during the 1950s. The International Typographic Style has had profound influence on graphic design as a part of the modernist movement, impacting many design-related fields including architecture and art. It emphasizes cleanness, readability, and objectivity.

Wikipedia

Main characteristics:

  • Visual design unit originated by the asymmetric arrangement of each component within a geometric grid.
  • Quality and purity, as opposed to exaggerations of advertisements and propaganda.
  • Unique use of sans serif fonts as generator of the progressive age spirit.

Google image search

Edit after the comment

The progress of the modernist movement was interrupted by the two world wars, principally the second. That's why the continuity of the design was in a neutral country: Switzerland. The modernist movement had to wait for the end of the war to reborn a few decades later with the name of Postmodernism, or the second chance of modernism. The International Typographic Style is a consequence of modernism, but as evolution.

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    Also look up De Stijl (a precursor) and Isotype, and then for descendants of International Typographique, look at the New York school... Commented Oct 30, 2019 at 18:02

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